Melding Together
by Danielle Salvatore
Summary: Elena is slowly but surely getting her life together. She's intending school, has a job, and owns her own apartment. But she gets thrown into a loop when the man who broke her heart returns to town after four years of being away. (AU) *All Human* Delena one-shot. Written as a gift for my friend Lucia.


**Melding Together**

 **A/N: Written as a veeeeery late Christmas present for my friend Lucia :) I hope you like it BB, despite the terrible lateness lol. I'm not normally a Delena writer so I hope I didn't butcher this.**

* * *

The cafe was quiet today. A bit too quiet.

Elena Gilbert sat at the small, round table along with Stefan and Caroline, the small number of people in the building making it impossible for her to even pretend that she wasn't clearly the third wheel out of the three of them.

This was supposed to be a double date at Caroline's insistence. Stefan and Caroline together along with Elena and Matt together. But Caroline's dream had been shattered when Elena called her a few hours prior and informed her that she and Matt had broken up. And yet, for whatever reason, the "double date" was still going on, even though it now consisted of one couple and one person on their own.

"We should try to sign up for the same classes next quarter," Caroline stated, her eyes glued to Stefan. "We didn't have any together this quarter and I don't want to spend another four months being apart for that long."

Stefan rolled his eyes in a playful way, shaking his head in amusement. "It isn't _that_ long Caroline. And besides...we really don't have many interests in common. We're both going for different degrees."

Yep. Clearly the third wheel. Not wanting to listen to their entire conversation, Elena refocused her attention on her food; a simple fruit basket filled with apple slices, grapes, a banana, a couple pears, and a few others. She just wanted this "date" to be over with so she could go back home and maybe try to finish the paper that she needed to turn in by Wednesday...two days from now.

"Do you think you're going to be okay, Elena?" She suddenly heard Caroline's voice say, breaking her out of her momentary reverie.

"What?" Elena replied a bit dumbly, looking up from the fruit basket and directly into her friend's eyes, seeing the clear concern flashing in them. What had she missed?

Caroline pursed her lips, obviously with-holding some frustration towards the realization that she had been ignored. "I asked you if you think you're going to be okay when Damon comes back. I know that you two didn't...end well." Now a sympathetic hue appeared in the blonde's blue eyes.

Elena froze, all of her emotions suddenly going into chilling hyper-drive. She hadn't heard that name in about four years...ever since the year he first left.

A single word escaped her lips in response to the news. But given the situation, it was more than enough as a response. " _Why?_ "

Stefan shot her a sympathetic look as he responded. "He served four years in the military and now he's ready to come home. He'll...probably be staying in my apartment until he manages to get a place of his own."

After listening to the explanation, the news was now fully sinking in for Elena and she found herself having to choke back tears. "I don't want to see him. Ever."

Stefan's eyebrows rose at the vehement, angry tone of her voice. "Elena..."

"I _don't_ want to see him," Elena repeated through gritted teeth. "I mean it, Stefan. I want you to tell him that when he gets here."

After spending years getting over her heartache, Damon Salvatore now had the chance to shatter everything all over again. But she refused to let him accomplish it.

Hearing no further response from Stefan, the brunette turned to look at Caroline, a pleading glint entering her doe brown hues. "Can you drive me home?"

Caroline wordlessly nodded and grabbed her car keys.

* * *

 **Flashback: Elena: Age 5, Damon: Age 9**

The building in front of her was the biggest house that Elena had ever seen...at least twice as large as hers.

Her mother gestured towards the little boy with light hair and gold-brown eyes in a warm manner. "This is Stefan, Elena. He lives next door now. I think the two of you could be friends."

Elena watched as the boy, Stefan, continuously tossed the football in his hands into the air before catching it. He looked to be about her age.

Beaming, her mother began to walk away. "I'm going to talk with Mr. Salvatore for a few minutes. I'll leave you two to play."

After her mother was gone, Elena glanced at the boy standing in front of her. He seemed kind of shy, not saying a word to her and settled with simply staring at her.

Feeling the aura around them growing a bit awkward, Elena glanced around at the ground, eventually spotting the discarded football that she had seen him playing with only moments before. A bright smile crossed her lips as an idea came to her and she excitedly picked the football up into her hands.

She held the ball towards Stefan in a playful manner. "Do you want to play?"

That thankfully managed to snap Stefan out of his shy reverie. He nodded his head eagerly in response. "Sure."

They decided to begin by tossing the ball back and forth between each other. Stefan's throws were considerably stronger than Elena's but he began to throw lighter tosses after realizing how she was struggling. However, it didn't take too long for him to slip up and throw a particularly large toss, sending the football rolling down the hill behind them.

"I'll go get it!" Elena exclaimed before Stefan could get a word out, turning her small body in the direction of the hill and bounding down it.

It didn't take her long yo find it...but instead of finding it lying on the ground and waiting for her to pick it up, it was in the hands of a boy. A boy with dark hair and blue eyes, and who looked to be at least a few years older than her.

"Hey...could you give me the football?" Elena asked as her short legs finally allowed her to fully approach the boy. "It..."

Before she could finish her sentence, the ball came flying in her direction, eventually hitting her square in the chest. Hard. The impact ended up being enough to knock the five year old girl onto the ground.

The next moments happened in a blur. One moment, Elena was crying on the ground, the sensation of a scrapped knee overloading her senses and the next, she was in her mother's arms, the sound of harsh scolding towards the blue eyed boy being the last thing Elena heard before she was carried off towards the large house.

* * *

It had been only about twenty minutes after that when Elena saw the blue eyed boy again.

She was currently being propped up on a soft couch, her knee resting on a pillow with an ice pack on top of it. It seemed that her knee had taken most of the fall. Her mother had gone back to her conversation with Mr. Salvatore but she said that they would be leaving and going home in just a few minutes.

"Hey." She heard a voice say from her left. She didn't immediately recognize it and turned to face the direction it had come from with curiosity.

It was the blue eyed boy. The one who had thrown the football at her and made her fall. Stubbornly, Elena folded her small arms across her chest. "What do you want?"

The look on the boy's face seemed almost...pained, as if he was struggling to actually say the words that were on his mind. Eventually, two words erupted from him, coming out quick and slightly jumbled.

"I'm...sorry." It was clear from his tone of voice that it was something he wasn't used to saying.

And despite the fact that her knee was still painfully stinging, Elena had a forgiving heart. She managed a small smile in his direction. "It's okay. Um...what's your name? I'm Elena."

The boy seemed oddly relieved at how quickly she had forgiven him. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the sound of a harsh voice yelling angrily from another room.

"Damon, get in here!"

The boy, that Elena now knew sas Damon, scampered off in the direction of his father's voice, an annoyed glint in his icy blue eyes.

Little did she know how much of an impact that Damon Salvatore would have on her life.

* * *

 **Present day**

The ride back to Elena's apartment was silent, Caroline having miraculously managed to not say a word until she stopped the car to give Elena the chance to get out.

"Elena, i'm sorry. I told Stefan not to..."

"Caroline, it's okay," Elena said, not wanting to dwell on the subject. She closed her eyes, trying to will herself to calm down a few notches before she said anything else. "Just...pass on the message to Damon if you see him. I don't want anything to do with him anymore."

She had forgiven him for plenty of things throughout their relationship together, but what he did four years ago was something she might not ever be able to look past. He had broken her heart.

Caroline nodded and gave her one last apologetic look before driving off, leaving her alone. Elena stood and watched her car disappear for a few brief moments before letting out a soft sigh and turning to enter her apartment, pushing the key into the lock and opening the door, stepping inside the small living space.

The air was a bit cold, due to the heat not being on all day. Elena shivered slightly before making her way further into the apartment, taking off her shoes and jacket in the process. She was quick to find the thermostat, turning it on to a decent temperature that would keep her warm throughout the night.

 _It's a good thing that none of my professors assigned me any homework today...I don't think I would be able to concentrate on anything._

Elena climbed the stairs that led to the second level of her apartment, throwing herself into her bedroom and onto her small bed. Laying on her back, she opened her phone and began to dial a very familiar number, holding the phone to her ear and waiting for someone to answer.

It ended up only taking a few rings for her to hear Bonnie's voice from the other end of the line.

"Hello?"

"Hi Bonnie. It's me, Elena," Elena replied, smiling a bit. Bonnie had been gone for the last few months, having scored a spot in a great foreign exchange program and was currently attending school in Italy. Elena had a conversation with her on the phone almost every day...but sadly, this time, she wasn't calling just to say hi.

Bonnie seemed to be able to instantly tell that there was something off about her tone of voice. "Elena...is something wrong? You sound a little emotionally drained."

Elena closed her eyes and blurted out the words she had been dying to say since the phone conversation had started. "Stefan told me that Damon is back in town."

A brief pause occurred, and Elena knew that Bonnie was trying to process the news that she had just dropped on her. Eventually, she heard her reply in a surprisingly calm voice. "Did he tell you why?"

"No...not really anyway. Just that after he spent four years in the military, he was ready to come home. I just...I know that it's been four years, but i'm not ready to see him yet, Bonnie. I don't know what to do."

Bonnie had been the one who had held Elena as she sobbed out her emotions on the horrible night she had discovered that Damon had abandoned her without even a goodbye. If anyone knew how difficult this felt for her, it was her.

"Well...you're going to have to face him at some point, Elena. It's nearly unavoidable now that he'll be living in the same town as you again. But...how you interact with him is entirely up to you. Just remember that you don't owe him anything."

Elena nodded. "I know. I just wish you were here. You...always understood our relationship better than Caroline did. But I hope you're having fun in Italy."

She could practically sense the small smile on Bonnie's face just from listening to her voice. "I know. But hey, i'll be home in a few weeks, if that helps at all."

The two childhood friends then lapsed into small talk before Bonnie eventually had to hang up, leaving Elena alone in the quietness of the room and her raging thoughts.

It was then that she noticed that she had one missed call from when she was on the line talking to Bonnie. Curiously, Elena pressed the tab that led to her missed calls. She froze when she saw the number that was one the phone screen.

Across the screen was Damon's number. She recognized it from four years ago and it was likely that he never changed it.

After only a few seconds of hesitation, Elena deleted the notification and closed her phone dismissively.

* * *

The next day, Elena found herself straining to keep her eyes open during her job as a waitress at the Mystic Grill. She had barely gotten any sleep the night before, her mind having been too occupied with other things.

Her coworker; Amanda, directed her towards a table that had recently been filled by a small family. "Can you take care of table four? My lunch break just started."

Elena broke herself out of her tired daze and nodded, managing a small smile. "On it."

Amanda turned away and began to walk in the opposite direction but then paused, glancing back in Elena's direction. "Hey Elena...are you doing anything this Saturday night?"

"No. Why?"

Amanda smiled wide. "Tyler Lockwood is throwing a party at his manor Saturday night. I heard that it's going to be a blast and apparently it's open invitation. You should come. I know that you don't get out very much with your classes always keeping you busy."

Elena considered the idea. It had been a long time since she had gone to a party...and with everything going on right now, she supposed that she should at least try to have some fun.

"Sounds good. I'll try to be there. Thanks for letting me know about it."

* * *

 **Flashback: Elena: 10, Damon: 14**

It was a chilly Sunday night when Elena heard the knocking at her door.

Her parents had gone to bed hours ago and she was supposed to be sleeping right along with them. But being the night owl she was, she had gotten up about an hour ago to come downstairs and watch cartoons on the big T.V in the living room. But she had no idea who could be visiting at this time of night.

Curiously and quickly, Elena hopped off of the couch and headed in the direction of the front door, pressing her ear up against it. "Who is it?"

"Elena, it's me."

Elena's eyes widened when she heard the familiar voice but wasted no time in swinging the door open in response.

On her doorstep stood Damon Salvatore...the fourteen year old boy that she had known since the age of five and who she secretly had a crush on. She felt a bit bashful at him seeing her in her pink pajamas, but hoped that it didn't visibly show on her face.

"Come on in Damon," she invited, stepping out of the way to allow him entrance into the house. She then continued in a low whisper. "But we have to be quiet...my parents are asleep."

Damon nodded in understanding before following her inside, carefully and lightly shutting the door behind him. Once they were both in the living room and seated on the couch, Elena had built up the courage to ask him what was on her mind.

"Damon...what's wrong?" She had seen from the frantic look on his face when she answered the door that there must be something bothering him...that, and it was very strange for him to be randomly knocking on her door at eleven o'clock at night.

Damon seemed hesitant about answering her, a frown appearing on his brow, as if he was trying to figure out how to best answer the question. "I had a fight with my dad," he eventually said. "And I didn't know where else to go."

He had a signature stubborn look in his eyes that told Elena not to try to question what it was exactly that he and his dad were fighting about...knowing full well that he wouldn't tell her. So she would make due with whatever information he was willing to give her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered in response. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not really but...do you mind if I crash here for a few hours? I'll be gone before your parents wake up."

"Okay."

An awkward silence passed over them before Elena cleared her throat. "I should probably go back to my room. I'm...i'm not supposed to actually be awake right now."

Damon managed a small and weak smirk at hearing that. And even though the gesture didn't quite reach his eyes, it still caused Elena's heart to flutter in her chest. "Being a rebel?"

Elena let out a slight giggle. "No. I'm not trying to be anyway. I just wasn't ready to sleep. Goodnight Damon...wake me up if you need anything, okay?"

Before she had a chance to get off the couch and leave, Damon leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her cheek. "Okay. Goodnight Elena. And thank you for letting me stay here."

A mixture of both joy and bashfulness swept through Elena, knowing full well that her face must now be as red as a tomato.

"I...well, goodnight," she repeated before she fled the couch, her face still beat red.

* * *

 **Present Day**

Loud music and voices boomed powerfully through the Lockwood manor as the party raged on.

Elena was trying hard to enjoy herself but was finding it a bit difficult to get into a cheerful mood. Instead, she found herself lingering against one of the walls by herself, a drink resting in her hand.

But it started to feel a little awkward...just standing there staring at the passing forms of the other guests and seemingly not having anyone to talk to. She was just about to force herself to start mingling through the crowd when she felt someone tapping on her shoulder. Quickly and precisely, she turned on her heel and came face-to-face with Tyler Lockwood, who was wearing a flirtatious grin and holding a drink of his own.

"Elena...hey. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Feeling relieved that she now had someone to talk to, Elena grinned back. She had known Tyler almost her entire life...and although they'd had differences in the past, she was comfortable with him. "I know that it's been a while since i've gone to one of these...but I figured that I needed some time out."

Tyler nodded in agreement and walked further in order to stand next to her, holding his glass up. "Cheers to your first night at one of my parities in months."

They clanked their glasses together before they each took a sip. This was Elena's third glass of the night and she could already feel the alcohol begging to take some effect...she had always been a lightweight. And well...she always grew a bit more daring whenever she had a buzz.

"Do you want to show me around? Maybe nothing has really changed but...is _has_ been a while since i've been here," she eventually said, allowing a slightly flirtatious tone to seep into her words.

A flash of obvious surprise appeared in Tyler's eyes, but he wasn't about to reject her. He nodded, gesturing towards the area behind them. "Alright. What do you want to see first?" The flirty intent in his voice was even more obvious than the one in hers.

Just when Elena was about to respond to Tyler's words, another voice sounded from behind them...one that was achingly and chillingly familiar, even if she hadn't heard it in about four years.

"It's been a while since i've been here as well. Perhaps I should join you two on your tour, if you don't mind."

Elena's jaw nearly dropped open as she turned to face the person. Standing only a few feet away from her was Damon Salvatore...in the flesh for the first time in four years.

He didn't look too much different from how she remembered him. His muscles were now more defined after having spent years in the military and there was what seemed like a older and more mature aura about him, but other than that, he was the same Damon she once knew...and he was looking at her with the same amount of tensity and sadness that she remembered from the last time he looked at her.

But none of that was enough to make her want him around.

"Get out of here Damon," she seethed, hoping her anger was enough to disguise the hurt. "I'm talking to Tyler."

She thought she could see what looked like a genuinely hurt expression on his face but he was quick to compose himself, putting back up a firm stance. "Elena...I just want to talk to you for a few minutes. Alone. Please?"

If it wasn't for the fact that Elena was currently undergoing a very obvious buzz from the alcohol she consumed, the "please" might have done something to effect her at least a little. But now she could only feel anger and the desire to get away from the man who broke her heart.

"No," she replied stubbornly and venomously. And then, impulsively and without thinking, she dumped the drink she was holding over his head, watching as it soaked his hair and shirt. "Stay away from me."

Laughs and surprised stares erupted after that but before Elena could get another word out about it Tyler pulled her aside. "I'm going to try to get someone to drive you home." Obviously he now thought she was too unstable to stay at the party.

"Okay," Elena mumbled, suddenly feeling very tired. As she allowed Tyler to pull her away from the crowd and scene, she caught one last glance of Damon, who was just standing there with a shocked expression on his face.

* * *

 **Flashback: Elena: 16, Damon: 20**

Elena was very hesitant about answering whoever was at her bedroom door when she heard a knock on it.

She had spent the last two hours crying nonstop into her pillow so she was sure that her eyes and face were currently red and puffy.

"Who is it?" She reluctantly asked, hoping her voice didn't make her current emotional turmoil too obvious.

"It's me. Open the door, Elena."

It was exactly who she feared it would be. Damon.

She had the strong urge to tell him to go away but couldn't bring herself to coldly brush him off like that. Besides...she had a feeling that it wouldn't be enough to drive him off, as stubborn as he could be.

"I...i'm okay, Damon. Really. I'll be out in just a few minutes." That was a bit of a lie. At this point, she wasn't really sure when she would be able to bring herself to leave the room.

And it was obvious that Damon didn't buy it...at all. "Come on, just open the door. I'm not leaving until you do."

After a few more moments of hesitation and letting out a weak, aggravated sigh,Elena obediently stood up to unlock and open the door. She hoped that she at least looked presentable but she was fairly sure that her eyes were still very puffy from all of the crying she had just gotten finished doing. And there was nothing she could really do to change that.

Once the door was open Damon was quick to enter the room, closing it behind him after stepping inside. His expression was angry...almost grim as he regarded her. "What did the idiot do this time?"

The "idiot" was Elena's on and off again boyfriend; James. Although most of their breakups had consisted of mutual and silly fighting, this split had been the final straw. Elena had caught him cheating on her with Rebekah Mikaelson. And since that time, which was nearly two hours ago, Elena had spent the majority of her time crying in her bedroom. She really wasn't up to talking about it with anyone but...since Damon was already in here...

"He...he cheated on me," she eventually confessed in a low and somewhat shaky whisper.

For a few moments, Damon said nothing in reply but his expression told Elena everything she needed to know to realize what he was feeling. He looked angry. More angry than she had seen him in a long time.

"He _what?"_

Elena grew a bit more nervous at hearing the pure and utter venom in his voice as he asked the question. A bit cautiously, she repeated what she had said. "James cheated on me with Rebekah Mikaelson. I caught them after school at his house."

Time seemed to freeze for a moment and the look of cold fury never left Damon's face. Eventually, he turned away from her. "I'm going to go have a talk with him."

He said the word 'talk' while making air quotations with his fingers, instantly telling Elena that he planned to do a lot more than 'talk' to James.

"Damon no!" She exclaimed hurriedly, grabbing onto his arm in a pleading fashion. "I don't want you to start a fight with him."

"He can't just get away with this."

Despite her red and puffy eyes, Elena managed a grin in his direction as he turned back to face her, attempting to lighten the mood. "Ever heard of taking the high road?"

"Not in this kind of situation," Damon murmured darkly before turning away from her, his intentions to still leave the room and go after James clear.

"Damon," Elena said with a sigh, keeping a firm hold on his arm. "I don't want you to go after him. Period."

"But..."

"Please," she insisted, giving his arm a squeeze. "I just want all of this to eventually blow over."

Damon seemed hesitant at first but eventually, to Elena's relief, he conceded with a nod. "Alright."

Her tears having ceased since their conversation had started, Elena managed a small smile in his direction. "And since you're here why don't we go downstairs to the basement and watch a movie?"

The basement had sort of become a special location for them since they became friends at the ages of five and nine. Elena's parents had allowed her to turn it into something like a second bedroom for her after it was determined that they had no other use for it.

After Damon nodded his head in agreement the two of them exited the bedroom.

Elena eventually stopped walking, a thought occurring to her. "I could make some popcorn first. Just give me a few minutes..."

"James doesn't deserve you," Damon suddenly said, cutting her off mid-sentence. "I hope you know that."

Elena wasn't sure what to say in response to that and instead opted to simply look at him. He took her silence as a sign for him to continue speaking.

"You could do so much better, Elena. I hope one day you'll find someone who actually deserves you."

 _Like me,_ Elena wished he would say but knew he never would. It was no secret...at least to anyone but Damon himself, who Elena's heart lied with. But she managed to keep her emotions at bay and instead offered him another smile. "Thank you Damon. Now let's go make that popcorn."

* * *

 **Present Day**

Elena didn't see Damon again until about two days after the disaster at Tyler's party. And it was at the worst possible place she could imagine.

At the restaurant during her shift.

He was sitting at one of the back tables with another handsome man that looked to be in his mid to late twenties. They were sitting across from each other and laughing about something.

Elena was trying hard not to stare from her place standing in the kitchen when the restaurant manager; Pearl, came up from behind her.

"Elena, that table over there is yours."

Elena wheeled around to face her, both surprised and mortified. "What? But I thought my tables today were..."

"The young man with the dark hair and blue eyes requested you as his server for the evening...and agreed to pay a pretty heft bonus for it too."

Elena could feel her anger flare up, unable to believe that Damon would have the audacity to request her as his server after she made it clear that she didn't want anything to do with him a few nights ago. She briefly wondered how he had even known that she worked here but in the end, she figured that Stefan must have let it slip to him.

But...for the sake of not looking petty, she would endure it. She let out a quiet and short sigh. "Okay."

"Good. Now get over there and take their orders."

* * *

Mere minutes later, Elena was standing next to their table, a pen and notebook in hand.

"May I take your order?"

Her voice was flat and emotionless, but she kept it civil and professional nonetheless.

The man sitting across from Damon grinned and leaned towards her from his seat a few fractions. "I think we _both_ know what we want. But unfortunately, it isn't on the menu," he said in a flirtatious, accented voice.

Elena gritted her teeth slightly in annoyance but otherwise, kept both her expression and voice completely void of emotion.

"May I take your order?" She repeated.

This time, Damon was the one who spoke up, appearing to be bothered by her complete indifference towards him. His icy blue eyes flashed with defiance as he replied to her. "Is it safe? How do I know you won't end up dumping my drink on me if I order one?"

He was clearly trying to goad a reaction out of her. And unfortunately, Elena was growing tempted to take the bait.

"Damon, I don't know what exactly you're trying to accomplish right now but whatever it is, you need to stop. Either order something or get out. Both of you."

She hated herself for giving him the satisfaction of getting a reaction out of her but she hadn't been able to help herself. He always did have the gift of getting a rise out of her even when no one else could.

His friend let out a low chuckle. "Ooh. It looks as though we managed to push some sensitive buttons."

Elena turned to glower at him before she caught the sight of Damon holding up his hands in a surrender-like fashion. She tried to ignore the fact that he had a very obvious look of triumph in his gaze at having gotten her to react to his words.

"Alright, Miss Testy. We'll order."

The exchanged ended with them both ordering drinks and a breakfast consisting of french toast.

* * *

A few hours later, after her shift had ended, Elena nearly ran into Damon on her way out of the restaurant.

He was quick to speak, not giving her the chance to immediately tell him to go away like she wanted to. "No need to flee. I just want to talk."

Elena scoffed and pulled out her car keys from her pants pocket, walking straight past him and towards her car. "And what exactly do you want to talk about, Damon? Why you decided to come into the place I work with some stranger just to harass me?"

Even though she currently had her back to him, she could almost _feel_ the wince that most likely passed over his face.

"First off, that stranger was Enzo. He's a friend of mine that I met while I was in the service. Second of all...i'm sorry. I originally only came here to talk to you but you were acting like you didn't know me at all. I just...wanted to get _some_ sort of reaction out of you, even if it was a negative one."

"Well...you succeeded. But now I have to get home." Elena placed her hand on the handle of her car door but stopped in her tracks when he placed his own hand on it, stopping her from swinging it open.

She opened her mouth to yell at him but he beat her to it. "Please Elena...just hear me out. Hear me out _once_ and afterwards, if you still want nothing to do with me, i'll leave you alone. Please."

It was a factor of a few things that finally crumbled her resolve. Damon hardly ever said the word 'please' and yet, he had said it twice in the same sentence just now. And his sad tone of voice and complete look _desperation_ on his face was enough to make anyone feel at least a little sympathy.

Elena let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay. But not right now. I want to get home first."

A flash of relief lit up his blue eyes. "Okay. How about at seven this evening? At our old tree house?"

Elena frowned at that. "You've been gone for four years Damon. How do you know that tree house is even still there?"

"It was one of the first places I visited after I got back."

Silence passed over them. Although she hated herself for it, Elena felt a strong swell of happy surprise at hearing that a fort that meant so much to them as kids still seemed to be at the top of his priority list. But she wasn't going to tell him that.

"Alright. I'll see you then," she mumbled dismissively, getting into the car.

She drove away before he could see her start crying.

* * *

 **Flashback: Elena: 18, Damon: 22**

The music blaring from the speakers was loud enough to most likely end up ringing in her ears in the morning. Elena was slightly buzzed with alcohol consumption but she was coherent enough to know that.

"Elena!" The angry and frantic voice of someone calling her name rang clear even through the loud music and Elena immediately turned to face the direction it had come from.

It was Damon.

He swiftly made his way through the raging crowd, eventually approaching her and gently but firmly grabbing her arm. "Let's get out of here."

Elena whined, her voice a little slurry from intoxication. "No. I'm having fun."

Damon let out an aggravated sigh. "Alright, fine. But lets go someplace quiet. So we can talk."

Before Elena could say anything in reply, he was pulling her in the direction of the front door. She was only able to shove him off once they were outside and standing on the front porch of the Lockwood manor.

"Damon, let go of me!" Elena exclaimed, ripping her hand out of his grasp.

He backed away from her a few inches, though his eyes remained stern. "Why haven't you been answering any of my calls the past three hours?"

Elena's eyes widened a small fraction and she pulled her phone out of her pants pocket, seeing that she indeed had about four missed calls from Damon.

"Oops. I must not have been able to hear the ringing through the loud music," she mumbled in acknowledgement.

"Right. Well...thanks to you, I spent the last few hours going out of my mind because I didn't know where you were. Especially after our last conversation. So, thanks for that."

Elena knew what conversation he was talking about. It was the phone call she shared with him about four hours prior...that revolved around her dead parents. Tonight was the one year anniversary since they died in that car accident. Overwhelmed with everything she was feeling, she had called Damon to rant to him a little before she hung up and immersed herself in another one of Tyler Lockwood's parties.

"I'm sorry," Elena said weakly. "I just..."

"Can we leave? Despite what you say, you don't look like you're having a lot of fun and it's difficult to talk through the music."

"I don't want to go home," she retorted in a stronger voice. She was trying to convince Jenna that she really was okay and merely out of the house to have fun. That illusion would be kind of ruined if she went home now.

"Fine. We'll go to my place then."

Elena blanched at that. "What?"

Damon shrugged lightly. "What? It isn't like you haven't been there before."

True. But this would be the first time she had been there at _night._ And for some reason, that idea seemed a bit more dangerous and exciting to her. She and Damon were only friends but, well, Elena at least felt much more than that. Her feelings for him had never gone away.

"Okay," she conceded, a small and faint smile crossing her lips.

"Let's go. My car is parked right outside the lawn."

* * *

It didn't take them more than twenty minutes to find themselves in Damon's apartment. Elena observed the familiar living space with white walls and little to no decoration as they stepped further and further inside. Damon wasn't really the sentimental type and had expressed repeatedly that he didn't plan on living in the apartment for good. Thus, the place he lived in alone wasn't the most decorative.

"You should sleep. You can have my bed for the night," Damon mumbled as he guided her in the direction of his bedroom. Elena found that she was much too tired to even try to argue about it.

Once they were inside the room, he helped her lay down onto it, tossing a couple blankets on top of her afterwards. He was about to leave the room when Elena suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm, her brown eyes holding a pleading and sad hue as she stared up at him. "Stay in here with me. Please?"

Damon frowned lightly. "Elena..."

"I don't want to be alone...not right now," she said, tears beginning to prickle at the corners of her eyes. Now that she was away from the party scene, all of her emotions regarding the day were beginning to spill out.

That ended up being enough to silence any impending arguments Damon had against staying in there with her. In moments, he was in the bed beside her, both of them underneath the covers and her head lying against his chest as tears slowly leaked from her eyes.

"I keep thinking it's going to get easier, but it never does."

"I know," Damon replied, planting a kiss on top of her head. It was a gesture that might have made butterflies fly around in Elena's stomach if it wasn't for the emotional state she was currently in.

"Sometimes I feel so alone..."

"Stop," Damon said, this time in a bit of a stronger voice. He gently turned her head so that she was facing him, his expression displaying nothing but complete and utter seriousness. "You're not alone, Elena. You still have your aunt, brother, your friends, and me..."

"And you're not alone either," she suddenly said, cutting him off. She placed a gentle hand on his chest as her eyes locked onto him, being surprisingly focused for a semi-drunk girl. "You're not alone Damon."

And she meant it. She knew that Damon didn't have the best upbringing. With his mother having died when she was fairly long, he and Stefan had been mainly raised by their emotionally abusive father. Damon had expressed to her the emotional stress he often went through because of his living situation during the many moments they were alone together and in deep conversation throughout their friendship. And she had always been quick to reassure that she was there for him. This time was no different.

Damon cleared his throat a bit awkwardly. "Yeah, yeah. Neither of us are alone. Now that it's been established, why don't we get some sleep?"

It was common of him to end the conversation once it started to become centered on him. But Elena was much too tired to fight him on it right now.

Soon enough, she had fallen into a deep sleep.

* * *

Elena had a bit of a headache when she woke up the next morning.

She groaned as she sat up in bed, remembering with startled and somewhat bashful realization that she was currently lying in Damon's bed. _Oh god, I made such a fool of myself last night..._

She took a moment to quickly and efficiently retrace everything that had happened the night before. The embarrassing and the more emotional ones that she didn't really want to think about...

"Morning sunshine," she heard Damon say as he walked into the room, fully dressed. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up. I wanted to ask you if you were up to going out and getting some breakfast...or I could always cook something up here. Whatever you prefer."

Elena smiled at him and patted the spot on the bed next to her, growing pleased when he took the hint and sat down. She ignored his statement for the time being and instead said one of her own. "Thank you Damon...for taking care of me last night." She felt her cheeks heat up and was sure she was blushing, but she tried not to dwell on that too much. "I was...in a rough place last night."

Damon grinned lightly. "Hey, what are friends for?" His expression then grew more serious. "But next time when you're feeling like that...try to talk to someone instead of just losing yourself in some party all by yourself. I was worried about you."

"You were about everything."

They both broke in a small swell of laughter then, as if he hadn't been trying to comfort her crying, buzzed self only the night before.

"But...really, I do appreciate it," Elena said once they had started to calm down. She stared straight into his eyes, conveying only gratitude and loving affection. "I feel like you're always looking after me."

"Even though our friendship stared with me knocking you down with a football?"

This time Elena was the one to grin. "Yep...we've grown past that time in our lives, I think."

She didn't realize how intensely they were now staring at each other or how close Damon had somehow drifted to her until a few moments before it happened. Before Elena could stop herself, she gave into the impulse and desire that she had secretly been having for years now. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against Damon's in a tender kiss.

She could feel him stiffen slightly for a few seconds but to her surprise and delight, he was unexpectedly and quickly returning the kiss, wrapping one of his arms gently around her waist to pull her even closer. The kiss lasted for a few more moments before they eventually broke apart, both breathing deeply from a lack of air.

"Elena, I...," Damon began.

But she cut him off. "I love you Damon," she admitted in a rush, just wanting to get the words out. Finally. "I have for a while now."

Damon hesitated for a few seconds and for a moment, Elena was terrified that she had made a mistake in confessing that to him so soon...that she was going to end up scaring him away with the heavy feelings.

But then he smiled in a way that might have looked sad to some and nodded his head. "I love you too, Elena."

Elena was far too filled with joy to catch the brief, sad glint in his eyes and instead kissed him again.

That morning would end up being the beginning of her heartbreak.

* * *

 **Present Day**

At around seven in the evening, just as they had planned, Elena arrived at the tree house. It was located in the small, wooded area that stood outside the Gilbert house, where Jenna and Jeremy were still living. Elena knew that it had been a little while since she had visited them and made a mental note to stop by there for a chat after she was done talking to Damon.

Speaking of Damon...

She eventually found him standing right underneath the tree house inside of actually inside it. If Elena was being completely honest with herself, the child in her was was a bit disappointed that she didn't have an excuse to climb inside it for old time's sake.

"You made it," Damon said lowly, his hands crossed over his chest. "I was beginning to think that you were bailing on me."

"I told you I would come," Elena replied flatly, walking over to stand in front of him. "Now how should we start this?"

When he took a few moments too long to reply, she spoke again. "Alright, I will. I'm going to talk and you're going to stand there and listen. You'll have your chance once i'm done."

Damon, whose mouth had been open to get ready to say something, clamped it shut once more, his jaw slightly rigid from what Elena assumed was nervousness. But she knew he wouldn't dare try to argue his way out of this one. He was lucky that she was willing to come here and talk to him at all.

"You broke my heart, Damon," Elena began, trying hard to force back the impending tears that wanted to spill out. Crying in front of him would ruin the illusion of herself that she wanted to create; angry and steely. "You were my best friend for almost my whole life...and I was in love with you for a good portion of it." She made sure to emphasize the 'was' part. "And on the last day I saw you...the day after the one year anniversary of my parents' deaths when you took me home from that party, I was so happy. Because I believed you loved me too...and we made love. I wanted to start talking about beginning a real relationship with you but then, hours later, I get a call from Stefan telling me that you left for the service. Without even saying goodbye to me. How do you think that made me feel?"

It felt good...getting all of that out. Although there had been times where Elena ranted about him to Bonnie, Caroline, and even Stefan sometimes over the last few years, there were words in that tirade that she had kept completely to herself. And although saying them out loud left her feeling a little vulnerable, it was also a great relief.

When Damon had yet to say anything, Elena began to pace as she continued speaking. "And then you never answered any of my calls or responded to any of my letters...and I tried multiple times during the first year with the numbers and addresses Stefan gave me. What was your problem? Did you lie about loving me and just didn't know how to let me down? Is that why?"

She stopped pacing and just turned to face him once again, trying to will herself to be quiet and let him speak, despite the fact that tears were beginning to make their way more steadily down her cheeks.

"Elena I..." He stepped closer to her, as if to try to physically comfort her, but stopped when she backed away from him, instead letting out a rough, pained sigh, his own blue eyes visibly glistening with a small amount of tears. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left like I did."

"No, you shouldn't have," she fired back angrily.

"I just didn't know how to tell you I was leaving. I...I was signed in to go for a year before I actually left. And every time I tried to work up the courage to tell you, the image of having to say goodbye to you stopped me. I was a coward." He glanced down at the ground, as if it was becoming physically painful to look her in the eyes. But then, as if silently berating himself, he looked back up at her, his sad eyes set more in what looked like determination. "And it just got worse after we...slept together on the day I was supposed to leave. It was stupid but by the time it was over, I knew I had just made my departure worse for you. I...didn't want to see the look of anger or hurt in your eyes when I told you I was leaving. So...I left and told Stefan to tell you where I was."

"And why didn't you ever answer any of calls or letters?"

"For the same reasons...I was ashamed of myself and was too selfish to own up to what I did. It sounds selfish and yeah...it was." He lifted up one of his hands to wipe away a stray tear that had managed to drift onto his cheek. It was very rare that Elena ever saw Damon cry so despite her anger, she couldn't help but feel the slightest twinge of empathy at the sight of it. "But I never meant to hear you...despite how unbelievable that sounds. I'm sorry Elena."

Elena sniffed, wiping away some of your own tears. "You're an idiot." She was still trying to process everything he had said. None of it justified what he had done but...she did believe him when he said that he hadn't meant to hurt her. She wasn't sure if she would have preferred it if he had been the cold bastard who stopped caring about her, because then it would be easier to forget about him.

"I know."

Silenced passed over them, each either unwilling to be the next one to speak or both unsure as to what to say. Eventually, Damon broke the ice. "So...do you think you could forgive me? I understand if you can't."

"I...yes. Not now, but eventually." Elena answered, finally allowing a small, watery smile to cross her lips. "I'm still furious with you...and I have a feeling that i'm going to be for a while, but I think I can forgive you someday. I believe you when you say you weren't trying to hurt me."

She could see the relief practically radiate off of him in waves before his gaze became almost shy and boyish. "Thank you...i'm grateful. And now if you don't mind, I would like to answer another one of your questions."

Elena frowned. "What question?"

"At the beginning of this conversation, you asked if I lied when I told you I loved you right before I left for the service. And the answer is...no, I didn't lie. And although I don't know how you feel about me after all of this time...my feelings never changed. I loved you then and I still love you."

His words rang up a long range of feelings and she was rendered speechless. A large part of her just wanted to completely give in and start back up from where they left off four years ago but the other part of her wanted to stay strong and make him work for any sort of relationship with her.

And then...just as it had before four years ago, her body simply went on autopilot. In a few walking strides, she was directly in front of him and leaning forward to plant a light kiss on his lips. She kept it short, only allowing it to linger for a few moments before she parted, smiling softly. "I love you too Damon...I always have and I always will."

After he got over his very obvious surprise over the sudden kiss, he shot her a smile of his own, this one not swarmed with sadness but with hope. "So what happens now?"

"We...we can take things slow. You're still not off the hook but i'm willing to give you another chance."

Damon grinned in the same smug and playful fashion that she loved while they were growing up. "You know that i'm never one to pass up a challenge."

Elena grinned back and reached forward to take his hand. "Well, you should get started then."

* * *

 **The End**

 **A/N: I sort of struggled over whether or not I wanted to end this fic with them fully back together since I didn't feel like it would be very realistic. But since I like happy endings, I decided to meet somewhere in the middle with it and instilled some hope instead of Elena fully forgiving Damon right away. Anyway, I hope people like this, especially you Lucia :)**


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